Reviewed by Shihaam IsaacsSouth Africa sports betting writer
Published 23 October 2026
The World Sports Betting KZN Guineas has been upgraded to Grade 1, which takes South Africa to 25 Grade 1 races.
The Asian Pattern Committee approved the National Horseracing Authority’s application to move the race from Grade 2 to Grade 1. The upgrade was then ratified by the Asian Racing Federation Executive Council and notified to the International Race Planning Advisory Committee, which reports significant decisions by regional pattern committees to the Society of International Thoroughbred Auctioneers.
When the new status applies
The race will be run under its new status in the 2026/27 season and will be updated in the 2027 edition of the International Cataloguing Standards Book, the publication the industry calls the Blue Book.
How the South African pattern now reads
The authority’s updated pattern table has 25 Grade 1 races, 35 Grade 2, 47 Grade 3 and 66 Listed, 173 in all. Of the 25 Grade 1 races, 2 are for two-year-olds, 7 for three-year-olds and 16 for three-year-olds and up.
The authority thanked the Asian Racing Federation, the Asian Pattern Committee, the International Race Planning Advisory Committee and the Society of International Thoroughbred Auctioneers for their consideration of the application.
It follows the Asian Pattern Committee’s September review of South African graded races. The rest of our South African sport coverage is in the South Africa section of AXN Sports.
